Barrel combination locks which allow the user to change the combination without the use of tools have been proposed (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,354,365 and 4,445,348). The permutation wheels of the locks of these patents carry outer rings which can be set by the user for selecting a combination of the user's choosing.
Prior proposals have not provided a simple and reliable way of holding the outer rings in place during normal lock operation and permitting the ready disassembly of the outer rings to permit changes in the combination.